Warming My Frozen Heart
by neo-chan7
Summary: Natalya had always been known for having a cold heart, but when an American named Alfred starts to warm it, she begins to take a liking to him, and her brother isn't liking that one bit . . . Rated T for violence and language. Reviews are much loved.
1. Chapter 1

"All hail the conquering hero!" the blue-eyed boy cheered as he pedaled furiously down the sidewalk, barely avoiding people passing by.

"Alfred you git! Slow down!" a green-eyed boy shouted as he tried in vain to keep up with Alfred.

"Come on Arthur! Can't keep up! Well I AM the hero after all!" Alfred shouted back, as he swerved to avoid hitting a lady with her infant in a stroller.

"YOU were the one who slept in this morning, not to mention you just HAD to stop and get a burger!"

"It's my breakfast!"

"I gave you some scones the other day! Why didn't you eat those instead!" Alfred turned his head to his friend and gave him a look that said "do you really want me to answer that?"

"Those things taste like couch stuffings!"

"Those were made from the recipe given to me by my mumsy!"

"Well at least she makes them edible!"

"Hey! Look out!"

"Huh?" Alfred turned his head too late, he soon found himself crashing into someone and landing onto the sidewalk with the person. Arthur pedaled harder and finally caught up with his friend, he hopped off his bike and went over to check on Alfred and his victim.

"Alfred! Are you ok! Speak to me!"

"Ow ow ow ow ow ow. That hurt." Alfred got to his knees and looked at who he crashed into, "Sweet lady liberty!" he suddenly cried.

"What's wrong!"

"I crashed into a girl and killed her! How can I call myself a hero now!" Arthur narrowed his eyes in annoyance, "You bloody idiot. Look, her chest is still moving, so that means she's still alive."

"Oh, you're right. Hahaha! In that case," he scooped up the girl into his arms, "I'll just do what a hero does! Save the damsel in distress!" Arthur couldn't help but to face palm, he sometimes wished Alfred was more like Matthew, his quite, twin brother.

"Just get her to the nurse."

"Right!"

While Arthur put their bikes on the bike rack, Alfred carried the mystery girl to the nurse. After gently placing her onto a bed, Alfred was told to go to his fist class by the school nurse.

"No, I'll stay here, it's my fault that she's like this and I wanna apologize." This really touched the nurse and she agreed to tell Alfred's fist class teacher what had happened (unfortunately the REAL reason Alfred decided to stay was to be excused from his first class, which was the one he hated: algebra, but it was also to examine this mystery girl a little more). With the nurse gone, Alfred sat by the bed and took a good look at the girl he ran into (literally). He had never seen her before, even though it's been a month since he started school at Hetalia High School, but he was really familiar with faces by now. Her waist long hair was platinum blonde, shinning silver in the sun, her skin pale as snow. All of a sudden, her eyes shot open, and Alfred was now able to see her beautiful, violet eyes, Alfred wondered if they were even real. She sat up so quickly, Alfred jumped up from his seat, not knowing what to do. Rubbing her forehead, she mumbled something Alfred couldn't understand.

"Um. . . excuse me?" Alfred managed to say.

"Huh?"

"Um. . . hi, I'm-"

"You're the idiot who ran me over with that bike!" she yelled angrily in a thick Russian accent. Alfred waved his hands in front of him.

"Hey hey hey hey! Look I'm so-" but before he could finish, he was slammed to the wall by the girl, who was holding a knife to his throat.

_Huh! Where did that come from! More importantly, why does she have something like this with her!_ He gulped.

"You have exactly ten seconds to explain why you crashed into me! And if you give me an idiotic answer, you die!"

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I just wasn't looking to where I was going! It wasn't on purpose or anything like that! Please don't kill me! I'm so sorry!" Alfred just kept ranting apologies until he was out of breath.

"Tell me, how did you bring me here?" the girl asked after Alfred caught his breath

"I . . . carried you. . ." he felt he knife being pressed harder against his throat.

"You mean you _touched _me! No one but my beloved big brother can touch me!"

"No no no no no! I didn't touch you anywhere were I . . . _shouldn't _touch you!"

"How did you carry me?"

"Bridal style?"

"That means you touched my legs! Didn't you!"

"Well . . . maybe just a little. But that wasn't intentional!" If looks could kill, the glare that the girl was giving Alfred would've killed him a thousand times over.

"What's your name?" She sure loved to ask questions.

"A-A-A-Alfred F. J-J-Jones!" He instantly felt the knife being pulled away from his neck when he answered, he breathed a sigh of relief before sliding to the ground.

_Whew, thought I was a goner._ He watched as the girl picked up her school bag from the foot of the bed and walked out of the nurse's office without even a "good-bye."

_Geez, what kind of hero am I? First I crashed and nearly kill someone, and nearly GOT KILLED by the same person. Well, as long as no one knows about this._

Alfred just shrugged it off, stood up, and went to his next class as he heard the bell ring.

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**I'm not really good at writing fanfics (but who says that I can't? ^.^) so please be gentle with me! Anywho, hope you enjoyed, please review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Ok, ideas kept popping into my head, so I just wrote down what was popping, lol. Once again, I'm really no good with these things, but I just enjoy writing fanfics. So please enjoy and review.**

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Arthur searched for his friend as the bell rang for lunch. And once again, there he was, seated at a table munching on an absurd pile of hamburgers. He sighed deeply, but joined his friend anyway.

"Alfred, how on earth can you eat those things all the time, you're gonna get sick if you keep eating nothing but fastfood," he said as he took his seat next to Alfred.

"What? It's good. And that's all that matters!"

"Oh brother."

"Bonjour les amis!" a voice suddenly said. Arthur looked back with disgust while Alfred waved.

"Hey Francis! What's up?"

"Oh nothing much."

"When you say 'nothing much,' I worry," Arthur mumbled.

"Hey! It's finally lunch time aru!"

"Hello there Yao!" Francis greeted as the Chinese boy sat next to Alfred. Arthur suddenly remembered something that he had been meaning to ask Alfred.

"Hey Alfred, what ever happened to that girl you crashed into today?" Francis and Yao stared, surprised.

"Alfred crashed into someone today!" they asked in unison (with Yao saying "aru" at the end of his sentence). Arthur nodded.

"Being the bloody git he was, he didn't see where he was going and ran a young girl over with his bike, knocking her unconscious."

"Ouch," Yao said, popping a dumpling into his mouth.

"So Alfred, what happened to her?" Arthur asked again. Alfred became a little nervous.

"Well . . . I took her to the nurse's office."

"Ohonononon, did you guys do . . . anything while you two were alone?" Francis asked, giving Alfred a perverted look. Alfred threw a hamburger wrapping at Francis' face.

"No! I'm not like you!"

"So did she thank you for taking her to the nurse aru? Or did she yell at you for crashing into her aru?" Yao asked, now slurping up some chow-men.

"Well . . . she did get a _little _mad at me."

_Talk about exaggeration! She was furious!_

"That's understandable," Arthur stated, nibbling on a scone.

"So, did you get her name!" Francis asked, wiggling his eyebrows.

"No . . ." Alfred mumbled.

"WHAT!" Francis yelled in shock.

"Hey, she left the room in a hurry after she woke up, I didn't have time."

_And I didn't want to get myself killed._

"Well, can you describe her? Maybe Francis, Yao, and I might know who she is."

"Let's see, she's pretty pale, her hair is a platinum blonde color, and her eyes are violet, pretty weird eye color if you ask me." The sound of chopsticks dropping was heard, everyone turned their attention to Yao, who had caused the noise. He had a terrified look on his face.

"Huh? Yao? What's wrong" Alfred asked.

"I-I-I know wh-who you sp-sp-speak of, a-a-aru," he said, trembling.

_Oh no! Did Yao experience the same life-and-death situation I did earlier! _Alfred held his breath, expecting the worst.

"She's the sister of Ivan Braginsky aru!" Alfred nearly chocked on his hamburger. No, it was waaaaaaaay worse then he thought.

"What! She's the sis of that commie!"

"Yeah, I saw her only once, and that was when she chased after Ivan when he tried to become one with me aru," Yao shuddered harder from the memory. "You see," Yao said after he got over his nervous breakdown, "Ivan's sister is very . . . well . . . different from normal girls aru. She was transferred here to Hetalia High School aru. Rumor has it, she was too much to handle in every school, even the teachers had a lot of trouble trying to control her aru. Not to mention that she wants to literally marry her own brother." Everyone at the table cringed at the last part. "So Alfred," Yao added, directing his attention to Alfred, "I'm surprised you met her and are not sliced into ribbons aru." Alfred wondered if he should tell the guys about his little ordeal with Ivan's sister. He decided to take a chance.

"Actually . . . she kinda held a knife to my throat when she woke up."

"WHAT! It's a miracle that you don't even have a scratch on you aru!"

"Well, she asked for my name, and when I gave it to her, she let me go."

"Well consider this a lucky break aru."

"I sure will."

Alfred plopped himself down at his seat for English class. The news of the girl he had helped was also the sister of Ivan Braginsky, the Russian who hated his guts more then anything, really sent him on a loop.

_The best thing for me to do is just to forget and avoid her._

"You!" a voice suddenly exclaimed. Alfred turned his head to his right, there was Ivan's little sister, giving him the glare that can kill.

_Oh great, I'm dead!_ Alfred thought, petrified with fear. He saw her reach into her desk, as if she was getting ready with something. Sensing it could be her deadly blades, Alfred acted quickly.

"Look! I don't know what your problem is! But I'm really sorry about crashing into you with my bike! I guess I can get a little careless. Just please don't kill me! I can tell you're a really nice girl! And not to mention you're really pretty! So please don't do this, I really am sorry and will try to be more careful in the future!" The girl's glare softened, but it was still there. She finally drew her hand back from inside her desk and faced the front of the class.

"Tch, whatever, you really were an idiot back there." Alfred chuckled nervously.

"Heh, yeah, I was. By the way, what's your name?" he asked, not knowing if he was gonna get an answer. The girl gave him a sideways glance and surprised him by answering.

"Natalya Braginsky."

"Even though our first encounter was a bit . . . awkward . . . it's a pleasure to meet you," Alfred said, extending his hand to her for a hand shake. Natalya looked at his hand, pondering in what she should do. Sighing, she took his hand and shook it once.

"And . . . well . . . thank . . . you," she mumbled.

"Huh?"

"Thank you . . . even though you were the one who knocked me out, you still brought me to the nurse's office . . . so I . . . thank you for that," Natalya kept her eyes on her desk as she spoke. Alfred flashed her his cheesy smile, no longer having any fear towards her.

"Don't mention it Natty! That's what heroes are for!"

"What did you just call me!"

"Uh . . . Natty?"

"Don't call me that ever again, or I'll shove my knife up somewhere very uncomfortable for you."

"Yes ma'm!" The teacher came in and started the lesson.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys! Finally updated this, the last part came to me before bed last night, so it might not be so good . other then that, enjoy my readers, and feel free to review!**

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English class was soon over, Alfred left the room and saw Natalya at her locker.

"Hey Natalya!" he called. She turned her head.

"Jones?"

"Hey! So what's your next class?"

"Um . . . history?"

"No way! That's my next class too! Not to mention my favorite! Wanna go together!"

_Is this guy for real? I tried to kill him this morning and he's _offering_ to walk with me to class? Most guys who have encountered me like that usually avoid me as much as possible._

"Uh . . . ok?"

"Great!" After a moment of awkward silence, Natalya asked, "Alfred?"

"Yeah?"

"Why do you love history so much? You seemed pretty enthusiastic about it back there."

"Oh! Well, history is just full of stories of heroes and defenders of justice! That's what I wanna be! A chief police officer! Defender of justice, and protector of man!" Natalya scoffed, "I doubt you'll be able to protect everyone, that's impossible."

"True, but I wanna defend as many as I can, and of course the ones I love as well."

"The . . . ones you . . . love?"

"Yeah, is that weird?"

"No . . . I think it's wonderful," Natalya practically breathed, going off into her own world. Alfred was a little creeped out by Natalya's sudden mood change, not to mention the far off look in her eyes.

"Uh . . . thanks?"

"Don't mention it," Natalya said with her voice still sounding sweet.

"So what do you wanna be when you grow up?" Alfred asked, seeing if his question will get Natalya back to normal. It worked. She had on her usual blank face and empty eyes.

"I'm not sure yet."

"You'll find out soon."

"We'll see."

School soon came to an end. And Alfred was having a hard time finding Matthew. He had debated on whether he should just go home without him, but last time he did, his mom sent him back to the school for Matthew, and that was no fun at all. So this time he decided on trying to be a little more patient and waited a little while longer.

"Man, where is he? I'm seriously gonna leave him again if he keeps me waiting like this." All of a sudden, Alfred felt a pair of small arms wrap around his waist from behind. It was Matthew.

"What the! Matt! Why on earth are you-!" Alfred stopped himself, realizing that Matthew was shaking uncontrollably.

"Uh . . . Matt? Are you . . . ok?" The poor boy couldn't answer, he was way too shaken up.

"Oh, I see you've found your 'hero' little Mattie," a voice suddenly said.

_I know that voice!_ Alfred turned his head toward the direction he heard the voice. It was none other then Ivan Braginsky.

"Why hello Fredka, it's been a while, da?" Alfred glared, seeing that Ivan was using the name he so hated.

"Right back at ya," he said in an irritated tone.

"Now now Fredka, there's no need to be nasty."

"You're one to talk," Alfred looked down at Matthew, who was still clinging on to him for dear life, then back to Ivan, "what were you doing with my brother?"

"We were only playing, nothing to worry about," Ivan answered innocently while smiling his childish smile. Alfred never liked it when Ivan smiled like that, it was as if he was planning something evil behind that smile.

"Don't act so innocent Ivan! I know you all too well."

"Oh? Is that so? Well then, perhaps you remember that I tend to carry around this?" And from out from under his coat that he wears over his uniform, he pulled out his metal pipe, it still had the faucet still on the top. He took a few steps toward Alfred, who stood his ground.

"Heh, you just stand there even though you remember what this did to you once?" Ivan kept walking until he was just a body away from Alfred, even with Ivan that close, Alfred still didn't move.

"Well, where's your big bravado now Fredka? Aren't you going to shout with that annoying voice of yours that you're the hero, and that you can stand anything?" Alfred stayed silent, but Matthew, seeing that his brother was gonna get hurt, let go of him, put himself in front of Ivan, and said, with his voice still shaky and quiet, "W-w-wait! Ivan, please, there's no need to result to hasty violence!"

"Oh? Then would you like to face the same fate your big brother will soon face?" Ivan asked, holding the pipe under Matthew's throat.

"Hey! Leave my brother out of this Ivan!" Alfred grabbed Matthew and pulled him behind him, "this is between you and me!"

"But your brother is apart of this now, or will I have to get through you to get to him?" Before anyone can say or do anything, a voice familiar to both Alfred and Ivan suddenly shouted, "BIG BROTHER! BIG BROTHER WHERE ARE YOU!" Ivan's smile vanished, as he looked frantically around with panic.

"What! Don't tell me!" he ran off to exit the school without looking back or saying anything else.

Alfred and Matthew could only stared, watching Ivan ran off, scared silly.

"Alfred, what just happened?" Matthew asked.

"How should I know?"

_That voice . . . Yup, there's no mistaken, that was Natalya. But where? _He looked around, expecting her to run out of nowhere after Ivan, but she was nowhere to be found. He instantly remembered when at lunch, Yao told him and his friends about Ivan running away from Natalya with just the sheer sound of her.

_Did she . . . do that on purpose?_ Alfred smiled as he put the pieces together.

"Hey Matt!"

"Uh . . . yes?" Matthew asked, wondering what got Alfred back to his usual, cheery self.

"Go home without me, I need to run a personal errand."

"Huh?"

"Just go."

"Ok . . . if you say so." Matthew went over to bike rack, hopped onto his bike, and pedaled towards home. Alfred got on his own bike and pedaled in a different direction.


	4. Chapter 4

**Yay! Finally i updated! I did my best here, not sure it really was my best, but I tried. Hope my readers enjoy, and reviews are much loved ^.^**

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"Hey Natty!" Alfred greeted as he popped up beside Natalya the next day at school. She jumped, startled for a moment, but when she saw who it was, she glared.

"I didn't think you could be so annoying early in the morning, and what did I say about calling me that!"

"Oh sorry, I forgot." Natalya rolled her eyes.

"What do you want?"

"I got a surprise for you!"

"No thank you," Natalya said right after Alfred finished his sentence.

"Aw come on, I know you're gonna like this."

"Go away."

"Come on!"

"Nyet."

"Please?"

"No means no!"

"Pretty please?"

"Gah! Fine! Let's get this over with!"

"You have to close your eyes."

"What!"

"I promise I wont do anything weird! I promise." Natalya hesitated, but she finally closed her eyes. She struggled to control her wanting of pulling out her knives as she felt him fastening something to her hair.

"Ok! You can open them!" Natalya opened her eyes.

"What did you do?" she asked. Alfred smiled and held up a little mirror. Natalya almost gasped. Tied to her hair on top of her head was a satin, white ribbon. It was tied into a very pretty bow, giving her a much more girly appearance.

"What do you think?" Alfred asked. Natalya reached up and very lightly stroked the fabric of the ribbon, wondering on how she should answer.

"Um . . . well . . . it's pretty."

"So you like it?"

" . . . . . . Yes."

"I'm so glad to hear it. You look so much prettier with that bow."

_This guy is just so straightforward!_

"Don't say things you don't mean!"

"But I do mean it." Natalya tried to find a sign that he was lying, but couldn't find one, he was looking straight into her eyes, smiling brightly.

"Why did you get me this anyway?"

"A little 'thank you' for what you did yesterday."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Alfred ignored her protest.

"You scared your brother away so he wouldn't hurt my brother or I, didn't you?"

"I said I have no idea what you're talking about!"

"I think you know very well." The bell rang.

_Saved by the bell! _Natalya thought with relief, she shoved past Alfred, "Bye."

"Hey Natalya! Thanks so much for yesterday!" Alfred called out. Natalya walked faster, but felt somewhat happy for the present Alfred had given her, and did her best to hide her smile.

Natalya felt a light tap on her shoulder as she sorted through her locker.

_If it's that Jones boy again, he's so dead._ It wasn't. It was Toris Lorinaitis, a Lithuanian who lived a few houses over from her house. He was a very shy boy, always acting nervous when she was around, yet he was always kind and polite towards her, even when she had sent him to the hospital three times from knife wounds.

"Um . . . hello Miss Natalya," he greeted shyly.

"Hi Toris," she said with her empty voice, "what do you want?"

"I was just wondering . . . since it's lunch time . . . would you like to sit with me? I can't seem to find Edward or Raivis, knowing them, they're probably hiding from Ivan." Ivan always had a habit of picking on the trio of friends, most likely cause they were just so easy for him to push around.

"Ugh, fine."

"What? Really?"

"Yes really, now lets just go."

"Oh thank you Miss Natalya! This means so much to-" Natalya grabbed his arm tightly and led him towards the lunch room.

"Just stop talking."

_Natalya is . . . holding my arm! Even if her grip hurts a little, this makes me so happy!_

As Natalya and Toris ate, to both of their surprise, Ivan appeared at their table.

"Big brother! You've come to eat with us!" Natalya asked, excited that her brother was actually giving her attention.

"Uh . . . hello Mr. Ivan," Toris said, disappointed that he was no longer alone with Natalya and was now face-to-face with his worst nightmare.

_Maybe I should've joined Edward and Raivis in hiding,_ Toris thought sadly.

"Actually, I just wanted to ask you something, Natalya."

"You want to marry me!" Natalya asked with sparkles gleaming in her eyes.

"Uh . . . sorry, but no."

"Well then, what is it brother? Ask me anything, and I'll answer!"

"Where did you get that ribbon?" Natalya froze.

"Um . . . well . . . It was . . . given to me."

"By whom?"

_Not good, I saw what happened yesterday, I never knew that big brother hated Alfred. What would he say if I told him it was Alfred who gave it to me?_

"A boy."

"Mind giving me his name?"

" . . . . . . ."

"Natalya, I asked for his name. Now answer me." For the first time in her life, Natalya didn't want to obey her brother, but she knew she had to.

"Alfred F. Jones."

"WHAT?" Natalya flinched, she had never seen Ivan so mad at her.

"Take it off," Ivan ordered. Natalya swallowed hard before forcing herself to say, "Ny . . . . et."

"What was that?"

"I said . . . nyet."

"Sister, if you truly love me, then you would get that horrid thing off your head!" Toris decided to try to speak up for the poor girl.

"Ivan! If she really likes it, then you have no right to take it from her!"

"Silence!" Ivan had his pipe in his raised hand, ready to strike. Natalya reacted quickly, and did something she never thought she would do, she stood in front of Toris, drew a knife, and held it in front of her brother's face.

"Don't you dare hit him brother!" Unfortunately this drew attention from students, they stopped what they were doing and stared, watching in horror. Ivan looked at her with shock, especially Toris, who never thought he would see the day when Natalya would actually defend him from her own brother. "Natalya, you would hold a blade to your own brother?"

"Just put your pipe down brother, please," her eyes were soft and begging.

"Foolish little sister."

"Huh?" To everyone's dismay, Ivan swung his pipe towards Natalya's face. Natalya closed her eyes and braced herself for the pain she'll soon face.

A moment passed, she felt nothing. She opened her eyes. Alfred had shown up and stopped the pipe from hitting her by grabbing it with his bare hands. He glared violently at Ivan.

"Are you insane! I knew you were knocked up in the head, but this is just too far!" With all his might, Alfred ripped the pipe from Ivan's hands, and with his foot, kicked him to the ground. Ivan felt the breath literally being knocked out of him as he fell to the floor. He did his best to hide the pain he was in by getting up casually as if nothing had happened to him.

"You will pay for this, filthy American. You'll pay for everything," he said as he walked away. Alfred dropped the pole, "Whew, that was a close one," he then said to the students watching, "get going people! Nothing more to see here!" They obeyed and went back to their business. It was until that moment that Natalya saw red liquid dripping down Alfred's hand.

"Jones! You're hurt!"

"Huh?" Alfred held his hand up and saw that his hand had a small gnash where the pipe had made contact, "oh, don't worry about it. It's just a scratch."

"No, this looks bad, we must take you to the nurse!" Completely forgetting herself, Natalya took a hold of Alfred's bloodied hand and dragged him through the halls towards the nurse's office. The nurse cleaned and bandaged Alfred's wound. During the entire process, Natalya stayed close, watching. When the nurse left the two alone, Natalya said, "Jones?"

"Yeah?"

"Why did you save me? You didn't have to you know."

"It's a hero's duty to protect the innocent." Natalya glared and smacked Alfred on his head.

"I'm being serious here!" Alfred chuckled, rubbing his head, "Ok ok, cause you're my friend."

"Friend?" Natalya said the word as if it was new to her.

"Yeah, and since we're friends, I'd appreciate it if you call me Alfred instead of Jones, it makes me sound like an old man."

"Tch, fine . . ." she took a deep breath, "Alfred." He smiled, liking the way Natalya said his name with her accent.

"You know something?"

"Hm?"

"You were pretty brave back there yourself."

"How?"

"You stood up for that guy, and against your own brother too. That takes guts."

"No, I was so scared. I was noting but a coward hiding behind my knives. In fact, that's all I am, a coward."

"No, you're not. Being scared doesn't make you a coward, you went and stood up against your brother, even though you were scared, THAT is bravery."

"Really?"

"Yeah, to tell you the truth, I was a little scared myself."

"That you would get hit?"

"No, that wasn't why I was scared."

"Then what-?" Natalya didn't understand.

"I was scared that he would seriously hurt you if I didn't move fast enough."

"You were scared for . . . me?"

"Why wouldn't I be? You're my friend, that's more then enough reason for me to be worried."

"Friend huh?" Alfred nodded, then he looked down at his bandaged hand, "Heh, good thing I stopped that pipe with my left hand, otherwise I wouldn't be able to get any school work done."

"Alfred."

"Yeah?"

"Thank you . . . for saving me."

"No problem! Just doing what a hero would do?"

"You never give that hero stuff a rest, do you?"

"Hahaha!" Suddenly, they both heard the door burst open, and a boy looking very much like Alfred launching himself towards him, hugging him tightly.

"Alfred! Oh thank goodness you're ok! You scared the maple leaves out of me!"

"Hey hey! Matt! Let me go!" Matthew released Alfred, blushing in embarrassment, "Oh, sorry Alfred, I guess I overreacted."

"Um . . . Alfred?"

"Oh right, hey Matt, this is Natalya, a friend of mine. Natalya, this is Matthew, my twin brother."

"How do you do?" Matthew said, trying to be polite.

"Um, hello Alfred's brother. My, you two look quite alike."

"Yeah, in fact, so alike that people mistake me for Alfred," Matthew said softly, in a tone that said he doesn't enjoy being mistaken for Alfred very much.

"You should feel honored to be mistaken for someone like me!" Alfred said, being able to hear Matthew's tone.

"It's not so fun when I run into someone who has a bone to pick with you!" Matthew "shouted."

"Aw come on, it can't be that bad."

"You honestly have no idea what looking like you has done to me! Now I always have to watch myself when I walk down the halls."

"Hehe." Alfred and Matthew looked at Natalya. She was giggling.

"Hehehehe," she couldn't hold her laughter in, it was very amusing watching the two brothers argue back and forth.

"Wow Natty, you have such a cute laugh, not to mention a pretty smile." Natalya stopped giggling and smiling, they were replaced with her glare and frown.

"What did I say about calling me that!"

"Even when you're mad, you're still pretty cute," Alfred said, ignoring what she had shouted. Natalya blushed.

"Shut up! Stupid Alfred!" she crossed her arms across her chest and gave both brothers the cold shoulder.

"You really need to work on how you talk to women Al," Matthew whispered (not that he really needed to).

"Oh, shut it Matt."


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey guys! yes, I'm still alive, lol. I've decided to start using the characters languages from now on. Why you ask, because i can! lol, plus i thought it would be fun. i made this next chapter as long as i could for you guys, so please excuse any bad writing, i did my very best, and enjoy. Reviews are loved!**

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One day after school, Alfred saw Natalya standing at the school gates, alone.

"Hey Natalya!" he called out.

"Alfred?"

"Hey, what are you still doing here? School ended at least ten minutes ago."

"I can ask you the same thing."

"Had to help Arthur with a project."

"I'm waiting for my big brother."

"Huh? But I saw him leave right when the bell rang."

"What!" Natalya shouted.

"What's wrong? Afraid to go home alone?" Natalya didn't answer, just stared at the ground. Alfred then understood that me might've hurt her feelings. He gently placed a hand on her shoulder, to his surprise, she didn't slap it away.

"Hey, look, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to sound insensitive."

"No, it's not you. Why would my brother just leave me without telling me at least?" Alfred sighed, _Cause he's a heartless commie, _was what he wanted to say, but he held his tongue. He smiled sweetly.

"Here," he got his bike from the bike rack and patted the second seat his bike had, "I can take you home."

"Что! (What!) Oh no, I can't possibly . . . I can walk home by myself."

"It can be dangerous for a pretty girl like you to walk on her own." Natalya flushed red.

"Well . . . fine, but it's only because you offered, not because I want to!"

"_Sure."_ Alfred called Matthew on his cell to tell him to go home without him. After he hopped on the bike, Natalya seated herself behind Alfred.

"You might want to hang on."

"To what? . . . . . . . . No way! No how!"

"Suite yourself." Alfred pushed off, as soon as he did, he felt Natalya's arms wrap around his waist. He couldn't help but to laugh.

"Hahaha! I warned you, didn't I?"

"Just shut up." Natalya told Alfred how to get to her house. As he pedaled down the streets, Natalya found herself resting her head against his back, making him blush. They were both silent for a long while, surprisingly, Natalya broke the silence.

"Alfred."

"Yeah?"

"I never really thanked you properly for the ribbon. Thank you, I really do like it."

"Don't mention it!"

"In fact, this is the first gift anyone has ever given to me in a long while."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"But, what about when it's your birthday? Don't you get presents from your relatives?"

"They all live in Russia."

"Oh, well what about your parents?" Alfred instantly felt Natalya grip his shirt tightly, pulling herself closer to him, shaking. That was when Alfred understood.

"Natalya, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you upset."

"No, it's no problem. After all, I still have my big brother and sister."

"You have a sister?"

"Her name is Katyusha, she's a college student and my big brothers and mine's guardian. She's very sweet, always making sure Ivan and I are well and fed. Ivan and I would be completely lost without her."

"She sounds like a wonderful person."

"She is," Natalya raised her head to look around the area where Alfred entered. She then pointed to a certain house, "That's my house, you can stop here." But Alfred kept going until he was right in front of her house.

"Ok, you're home." Natalya got off his bike, "Thank you for the ride Alfred, I . . . appreciate it."

"Just doing a hero's duty."

"That again?" Alfred chuckled. Natalya sighed, "You have such a carefree spirit, don't you?"

"It's just who I am, whether people like it or not. See ya at school!" And Alfred went his way.

"И вот что мне действительно нравится в вас, Альфред. (And that's what I really like about you, Alfred)," Natalya said as soon as he was gone.

Days went and came, Alfred showered Natalya with his friendliness, she took it to be a little strange at first, but little by little, she began to open her heart more. He even introduced her to some girl classmates of his, and with his help, Natalya now had friends of her own. She was now friends with a tomboyish Hungarian named Elizaveta Hedervrry and a shy yet sweet girl from Liechtenstein named Lily Zwingli. He then introduced her to his own friends, who at first were a little weary of her, but then they too began to accept her as part of the gang. Even little shy Matthew saw her as a friend, and maybe even as a sister.

As Natalya's heart softened, Ivan's heart grew hard and cold with hate to the American. Even though Ivan was sometimes afraid his sister, he still loved her and hated the fact that she was hanging out with the American boy. He hated how her small smile was directed to Alfred and not him, how Alfred was actually able to help her get friends of her own, how Alfred was able to get the best out of her. But above all, he hated how he was actually jealous of the lowly American, jealous on how his sister was taking Alfred's influence instead of his. Ivan can see that his sister was changing. He saw her actually putting away most of her knives in a box and slid it under her bed, she no longer chased after him or begged him to marry her (not that he didn't mind though), her violet eyes, one dark and empty, now had light shining in them, and she even invited her friends over to visit. He swore to himself that he would get back at the American for interfering with his sister, a part of his life.

One fine day, Natalya went looking for Lily and was happy to find her in the library silently reading a book. Natalya very quietly called out, "Lily." Hearing her name being called, Lily looked up from her book.

"Natalya, good to see you," she said in her adorable, high-pitched voice.

"Nice to see you too. Hey, I need your help with something."

"Was ist das? (What is it)? I'll do my best to prove you with any service you need."

"Well, I've heard you're really good a sewing . . ."

In Natalya's arms after school about a week later was a large, wrapped package. She waited anxiously by the gate, looking for a certain someone. Alfred was rolling his bike out of the bike rack when he heard his name being called by Natalya.

"Alfred!"

"Hey Natty! What's up? And what's that?"

"First off: how many times do I have to tell you to stop calling me that!"

"Sorry, habit I guess."

"Well break it or I'll break you!"

"Ok ok, although I'm not making any promises."

"And well . . . this . . ." she held out the wrapped object to him, "is for you. For everything you've ever done for me." Alfred looked at her with huge surprise.

"You're . . . . giving me a present?"

"Well . . . . yes I guess." Alfred reached out and gave Natalya a big bear hug.

"Thanks so much Natalya! I knew behind that cold stone face there was a soft, sweet side of you!" Natalya was literally being hugged to death, Alfred was incredibly strong for a boy his age and seemed to have forgotten his own strength for a moment.

"Al-fred! Can't. Breath!" Natalya forced out.

"Oh! Sorry!" Alfred released her. She took some huge breaths before handing out the present again.

"Just take it."

"Kay, thanks." When the present was in Alfred's hands, he immediately tore off the wrapping paper.

_What! He's opening it now!_ Natalya was hoping that Alfred would open his present when he got home and not in front of her. Alfred gasped loudly when he saw what Natalya had given him. It was a brown, leather, bomber jacket. It had dark brown fluff at the neck, a symbol of a star and plane were sewn onto the jacket, but what he loved most of all was the number 50 embedded on the back. He quickly put it on. It was a perfect fit.

"WOW! Thanks a million Natalya! Where did you get this!"

"I . . . made it."

"You what!"

"I had your brother help me with measurements, since you two are kinda the same size, Lily helped with picking out material and with cutting and putting the pieces together. I'm sorry if it looks all weird, I'm not really good with this kind of thing."

"Are you kidding me! This is amazing!"

"You really think so?"

"Heck yeah! I absolutely love this! I'm gonna wear it every day for now on!"

"I'm glad you like it. Well, best be on my way." But before Natalya could take a step, Alfred grabbed her hand.

"Oh no! Hop on! We're going for something sweet!"

"What on earth are you-? Kyaaaaaa!" Alfred pulled her to the second seat of his bike and pedaled fiercely down streets. Even with Natalya screaming things in Russian and the awkward looks people gave him, Alfred didn't even slow down one bit until he reached his destination. The bike screeched to a stop when Alfred braked.

"Whelp, here we are!" Natalya was still shaken up by the trip, not to mention mad.

"что во имя общего зимой были вы пытаетесь сделать! заставляют нас убить! (What in general winter's name were you trying to do! Get us killed!)"

"Come on Natalya, it wasn't that bad," Alfred said, not knowing what she said, but knew that she was mad.

"NOT BAD! I ALMOST FELL OFF WITH EVERY TURN YOU DID! AND YOU ALMOST RAN OVER AT LEAST 10 PEOPLE, 5 STRAY CATS, AND 3 STRAY DOGS!"

"Ok ok ok ok ok ok! I get it."

"Anyways, where are we?"

"Look straight." Natalya did. They were in front of an ice-cream parlor. She looked at him with a confused expression.

"What are we doing here?"

"Isn't it obvious? We're getting ice-cream!"

"что? (What?) But I don't have any money!"

"You're new to this whole 'treating you to something as a thank you' thing, aren't you?"

"Whatever that is, I guess I am."

"Consider this a 'thank you' for the jacket."

"But I never did anything like this for the ribbon you gave me."

"You don't have to if you don't want to or can't. But I want to." Alfred and Natalya both got off the bike and entered the parlor. She looked at the huge jugs of ice-cream behind the glass counter, wondering what the ones that were in strange colors tasted like.

"Order whatever you want, it's on me."

"Are you sure?"

"One hundred percent sure!"

"If you say so." Natalya got a small vanilla cone (not wanting to take a risk with the ones in different colors), and Alfred got that as well with the biggest size cup. Both went outside to some benches to eat.

"How is it?" Alfred asked after shoving down a huge spoon full of ice-cream.

"It's really good. Thank you so much. But Alfred, isn't that a little too much?" she pointed to his large cup.

"Naw, actually, it's not enough. It's too bad they don't offer bucket sizes."

_I'm starting to worry about this boy and the way he thinks. _Natalya thought as she licked her ice-cream.

After they ate, Alfred gave Natalya a ride home on his bike. When they reached her house, they were both confronted by a young woman who came from the house. Her short hair was platinum blonde like Natalya's, her eyes were a dark blue color, and the most notable feature of her were her large breasts.

"Наталья! Добро пожаловать домой! (Natalya! Welcome home!)" she greeted in Russian, "и кто твой друг? (and who's your friend?)" she asked when she noticed Alfred.

"Um," Natalya turned to Alfred, "Alfred, this is Katyusha, my older sister. Katyusha, this is Alfred, a . . . friend of mine." Katyusha then noticed the bomber jacket Alfred wore.

"Oh! That jacket! That was for him?" she asked Natalya.

"Um, yes?"

"Ах, как замечательно!Undo edits! (Oh how wonderful!)" she turned her attention to Alfred, "Natalya worked very hard on that, she just couldn't put it down until it was finished."

"Oh really?" Alfred said amused that Natalya worked so hard on his jacket. Natalya blushed, "Katyusha! Don't say that in front of him! And I didn't work too hard on it!"

"Are you kidding me? You didn't go to bed until midnight, you threw temper tantrums when it came out wrong, and when I went into your room, it was in your arms while you slept."

"Katyusha!" Natalya shouted, wishing that Katyusha would speak in Russian as usual so Alfred wouldn't understand.

"А жаль Наталья. (Oh sorry Natalya). But I've never seen you so determined on something. It was very interesting to watch." Natalya hung her head in embarrassment.

"Say Alfred, would you like to come in? I've baked some cookies and I think I made too many."

"Oh, well, if it's really ok."

"Of course!" Natalya didn't bother to protest, until something hit her.

"Подождите! Иван домой! (Wait! Is Ivan home!)"

"Нет, он с друзьями. (No, he's out with some friends.)" Natalya breathed a sigh of relief, but made sure that neither of the two noticed.

Alfred wolfed down some freshly baked chocolate chip cookies and washed them down with a huge gulp of milk.

_Seriously? He eats them like that after he just had a huge amount of ice-cream? That guy has a bottomless pit for a stomach,_ Natalya thought, nibbling on a cookie as she watched Alfred eat.

"So," Katyusha said, sitting down at the table, "you're Alfred, right?"

"Yesh," Alfred said with his mouth full. Natalya smacked him on the head, "Alfred! Don't talk with your mouth full! It's rude." Alfred gulped what was in his mouth before saying, "But wouldn't it also be rude if I didn't answer emmidiatly?" Natalya narrowed her eyes, "I think talking with your mouth full is even more rude then that." Alfred laughed his cheery laugh while Katyusha giggled.

"Natalya talks about you quite a bit." Both Alfred and Natalya went red in the face.

"She . . . does?"

"Я не! (I don't!)" Natalya argued.

"Oh but you do. She has told me that you're strong, brave, sometimes very careless and annoying, but otherwise a very good guy. Although she still hasn't said how very handsome you are."

"Большая сестра! (Big sister!)" Natalya whined.

"I'm sorry Natalya, but you really do." Alfred stared at Natalya, who was still shouting at Katyusha while Katyusha just giggled at everything she said.

_She honestly talks about me like this at home? Wow, I never would've guessed._

"Gah, Я собираюсь менять из моей одежды школу! (I'm going to change out of my school clothes)!" and Natalya stomped to her room.

"Oh dear, I might've gone a little too far with the teasing. But really, Alfred, she does seem to have taken a liking to you."

"You think so?"

"Oh yes. And I think you may be changing her. She's usually very cold and out of control, but lately, she's had friends over, she doesn't obsess over Ivan much anymore, she smiles a little more now, and I can see that some light had been restored in her eyes."

"Really?"

"Yes, I'm so glad she's found a friend like you. Please, Alfred, keep being good to her, she's had a rough life thus far, and she needs friends like you by her side."

"Rough life?"

"Well, I'm sure you know that she, Ivan and I aren't from around here."

"You guys from Russia, right?"

"That's right. When Natalya was born, my mother was very happy, but my father wanted nothing to do with her, he always treated her badly. One day, he was arguing with my mother about her, until he finally lost his temper and took a pipe, and beat her to death." Alfred flinched at the sound of that, remembering how close Natalya was to almost meeting the same fate her mother faced with Ivan that one day at lunch.

"After that incident, it was up to Ivan and I to look after her, now that our mother was gone. Our father always told Natalya that it was her fault that mother died, and would beat her very often when he got mad. Some time passed, when she was twelve, our father died from over drinking. I was 18, thus, I was aloud to become their legal guardian. So I moved us all here, hoping it would help her, putting her in a school where the atmosphere was kinder and warmer then what it was in Russia, but it didn't work. She was just as violent to other people as father was to her. Her first day of school, she threw a knife at a boy who was taunting her and calling her names. She didn't fit in anywhere, she was always alone, shunned out by the other people. Until now. So I beg to you Alfred, please continue being a good friend to her."

"Don't worry, I promise, I'll do my best to make her smile more often, make sure she's happy, that's what heroes do you know, save the damsel in distress." Katyusha chuckled, "You seem to have taken a liking to her as well, haven't you?" Alfred went red as a ripe tomato.

"No! She's my friend! And that's what friend do, they look out for each other."

"If you say so," but Katyusha's smile said that she didn't believe him.


	6. Chapter 6

**Yo! I did my best with this chapter, wrote this in one night when my brain was bombarded with ideas. Funny how I always get ideas late at night. Hopefully you enjoy this and review!**

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A few weeks later . . .

One Monday, Alfred couldn't help but to notice that Natalya was no where to be found. He saw her enter the school, but he didn't see her at English or history class. He just knew something was up. At break, he looked around for her, asked some fellow classmates if they had seen her, but they all shook their heads. As the minuted passed by, Alfred couldn't help but to get worried for Natalya. He was just about to pass by some stairs that led up to the school roof, when he saw some light shining down. The door was opened a crack. Following his instincts, Alfred walked up the stairs to the roof. The roof was surrounded by a tall fence, and a corner he saw Natalya. She was curled up in a tight ball with her back facing him.

_Was she here the entire morning?_ Alfred wondered as he quietly walked towards her. When he was no more then a few feet away, he called out her name, "Natalya. What are you doing here?" She turned her head. Alfred couldn't believe what he was seeing. Natalya's violet eyes were now red from crying, tears streamed down her face at a fast pace.

_What the heck!_ Alfred knew Natalya wasn't a girl to cry so easily, so this concerned him greatly.

"Natalya. What happened to you? And where's your bow?" he now noticed that she wasn't wearing it today. She turned away from him.

"Оставьте меня в покое (Leave me alone)," she choked out in Russian. That's when Alfred caught a whiff of a smell . . . the smell was blood.

"Natalya? Why am I smelling blood?" he asked, his voice now low and serious.

"You're just imagining it." Alfred just about had enough. He reached out, grabbed Natalya's arm, and pulled it towards him. He was now able to see the slash marks at her wrist and the knife in her hand. His eyes widened at the sight. Natalya yanked her arm out of his grip, she leaned with her back against the fence, holding her wrist.

"You . . . probably think I'm disgusting now, huh?"

"No! I don't!"

"Да, вы делаете! (Yes you do!)" Natalya screamed as more tears flowed, "don't go saying things you don't mean! Or are you just playing hero again! Well you're not gonna fool me with the act! Just leave me alo-." Alfred grabbed Natalya firmly by her shoulders, and pulled her close to him in a hug. This caught Natalya by complete surprise.

_Alfred? What?_ She was able to feel him resting his forehead on her shoulders, causing her to blush. She just stood there until Alfred released the hug, but he kept his hands firm on her shoulders.

"Natalya, look at me," he ordered. She obeyed. His sapphire blue eyes reminded Natalya of a clear, beautiful, blue sky, so open and free.

_So pretty . . ._ she thought.

"I'm not trying to play hero. Not this time, I'm serious. Can't you see that?" He asked, his voice tone sharp, and very different from his usual, obnoxious tone. Natalya truly never saw Alfred so serious in all the time she'd known him. She was able to sense that he was telling the truth.

"Да- (Y-yes), I see it now."

"Good, now," Alfred gently touched the hand in which she held the knife in, "drop this, please." Natalya hesitated, but she let go and allowed the knife to drop to the ground. Alfred then took her cut up wrist, looking at it with distress.

"A pretty girl like you shouldn't be doing something like this." Natalya's blush became darker. She looked away, "Don't say things like that, I'm not at all close to pretty."

"Natalya . . ." Alfred brought her wrist to his lips, and placed a little kiss on her wounds. Now Natalya was red up to her ears.

"A-Alfred!" He looked at her with his serious eyes again.

"You're right, you're not close to pretty, cause you're far from it Natalya. You're beautiful. So please, Natalya, tell me what's going on that would lead you to this."

_Alfred . . . I never thought he could be this wonderful. He's always been so goofy and oblivious to the surrounding atmosphere. _Natalya took a deep breath before answering.

"It's Ivan. He got so very mad yesterday for some reason. He told me to stay away from you, when I told him I wouldn't, he tore the bow you gave me off my head and told me that Father was right, I shouldn't have been born in the first place," as she spoke, Natalya's tears returned to her eyes, "I've never seen him so furious in my life, he tried to hit me with his pipe, but Katyusha was able to stop him at the last minute." Alfred couldn't believe what he was hearing.

_I can't believe this! Who does Ivan think he is! Treating his own sister like that. _Alfred held her close as she cried some more. When Natalya's cries diminished, Alfred slowly released her slightly, still holding her close in his arms.

"Better now?" he asked with a gentle smile.

"Yes, thank you, Alfred."

"No problem, now," he surprised her by scooping her up in him arms, "lets go get your wrist treated."

"Wha-! Alfred! Put me down!" she tried to struggle her way out, but Alfred was much to strong.

"Ugh, you're so annoying, you know that right?"

"Yup!"

"Sheesh, what am I going to do with you?" Alfred walked casually through the halls, ignoring the stares and whispers the students were giving him. Natalya on the other hand was feeling quite embarrassed.

_How can Alfred keep his cool under these kind of circumstances!_ Natalya sighed and allowed her head to rest against his chest. She was able to feel the warmth from his body, it calmed and soothed her, making her feel safe and secure.

_He's so warm . . . _In fact, she was so comfortable, she dozed off. When she opened her eyes, she was on a bed with her wrist nicely bandaged up. Next to her was the school nurse, but Alfred was no where in sight.

"Excuse me?" Natalya asked the nurse.

"Hm? What is it dear?"

"Where's the boy who brought me in here?"

"Oh Alfred? He left after I fixed you up. He seemed to be in a hurry, not to mention he looked a little mad for some reason."

_Mad? Why would he-? Wait! Don't tell me!_ Natalya leaped from the bed, startling the nurse.

"Miss! You shouldn't be jumping about like that! Please lie back down."

"I don't have time for that! I gotta find Alfred!" Charging through the door, Natalya searched and searched for Alfred, hoping that she could catch and stop him from what she thought he was planning to do.

_Alfred! Please don't do anything stupid! I don't know what I would do without you! Just please let me find you before my brother does!_

"Where the heck is that commie!"

"You called?" Alfred turned. There was Ivan, leaning against a tree with his arms crossed across his chest.

"Heh, great, this saves me alot of trouble."

"Oh? You wish to fight then?"

"No, I don't."

"Then why would you be searching for me for all that time?"

_He was following me this entire time! Trying to catch me when I'm alone._ They were both indeed alone, outside at the back of the school, where no one was likely to come.

"I just want you to hand over what rightfully belongs to Natalya."

"Oh, you mean, this?" Ivan held up Natalya's white ribbon.

"Yeah, hand it over Ivan, and no one gets hurt." Ivan suddenly broke out in an insane laugh.

"What's so funny!"

"You honestly would go to such lengths to get my little sister this piece of trash back to her?"

"Yes, I would!"

"And why is that?"

"Because she's a very precious friend of mine and I care for her! Now give it back!" Ivan laughed again.

"Hahahahaha! Well, if you want it back so badly then," he threw the ribbon into the air, and with the help of a gust of wind, it flew high until it was caught near the top the tree he was leaning on, "иди это (Go get it)."

"No problem! This shouldn't be a problem for a hero such as myself," Alfred said, and with a huge leap from his strong legs, he was arms-length away from the first branch.

"Что идиот (What an idiot)," Ivan said, but then wondered if he'd be eating his words as he watched Alfred climb higher and higher. After a few minutes of climbing, Alfred saw Natalya's ribbon caught at the end of a thick branch.

"Almost there, just gotta crawl on over there, and Natalya's getting her bow back!" He began to make his way to the ribbon.

"Альфред! Что же ты делаешь там! (Alfred! What on earth are you doing up there!)" Alfred looked down to see Natalya, scared out of her wits for him.

"Hey Natty! So you woke up, that's great!" Alfred shouted back cheerfully.

"ALFRED F. JONES! YOU GET DOWN FROM THE TREE RIGHT NOW!" Natalya yelled at the top of her lungs, almost scarring Ivan.

"Don't worry, the hero's got this!"

"Вы идиот! (You moron!) If you fall, you'll surely kill yourself!" It was true, Alfred was high enough that, if he did fall, it would surely inflict serious damage.

"Don't you worry your pretty little head, I'll be fine, I am the hero after all."

"Если падение с дерева, не убил его, я буду. (If a fall from the tree doesn't kill him, I _will_.)" Natalya mumbled under her breath. Natalya watched anxiously as Alfred crawled on the branch, inching closer to her ribbon, but as he did, the branch started to break. When it gave off a crack, Natalya nearly screamed.

"Man, why is this happening?" Alfred asked himself, oblivious to the fact that his weight had increased due to overeating fastfood. Nevertheless, he continued toward the ribbon. The branch cracked again.

"Это становится интересным. (This is getting interesting.)," Ivan said as he watched.

_Oh man, if I fall out of this tree, I'm never gonna hear the end of it from Natalya if I survive,_ Alfred thought as he clung to the branch for a moment. The ribbon was just inches away, he had come to far to go back now.

_Ok, just gotta reach out and grab it, nothing to it._ Holding onto the branch with one hand, Alfred reached out to the ribbon. Another gust of wind blew the ribbon's end towards him, thus Alfred was able to grab it with ease.

"I got it!" Alfred cheered. Seems like luck was on his side . . . the branch suddenly gave way . . . or not.

"ALFRED!" Natalya screamed. She could only watch with horror as Alfred fell, but as he did, he fell onto other branches that somewhat slowed his fall, so when he finally reached the ground, landing on his bottom, he was only covered with leaves, twigs, scraps and bruises. Seems like luck truly was on the American's side. Natalya rushed to his side when he landed.

"Ow ow ow ow ow ow ow! That really hurt!"

"Alfred!"

"Oh Natty, here," he held up her ribbon, "I got it back for you, just like I said." Natalya's face was twitching with all kinds of emotions, Alfred couldn't tell whether she was happy, mad, scared, or everything.

"You . . . you . . . grr," Natalya flung her arms around Alfred, catching him off guard, "don't you dare pull a ridiculous stunt like that again! You scared the living day lights out of me!" Alfred was able to see that Natalya really was scared for him, he just smiled and hugged her back.

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you like that." After they released eachother, Alfred secured the ribbon back into Natalya's hair.

"There we go, you look like yourself again."

"Alfred, thank you but, why would you go to such lengths for this?"

"Because you're my friend, and I'd do anything to make you happy."

"But you had to face my brother, and-. Wait! Where's Ivan." He seemed to have left after Alfred fell from the tree.

"Ah! Never mind him! Did he hurt you! He didn't use his pipe on you did he! Is he the one who threw my ribbon into the tree! Did he-!" Alfred gently placed a finger upon Natalya's lips.

"Haha, slow down Natty, don't worry, he didn't give me much trouble, although," he dusted some leaves off his shoulders, "he _did _throw your ribbon into the tree," Alfred then suddenly realized something, "Oh! Sorry!"

"Huh?"

"I called you 'Natty' again, I'm sorry, I just can't help it, I think it's a cute nickname."

"Actually . . ." Natalya plucked a twig from Alfred's hair, "I think it's nice as well." Alfred's eyes shinned, for once he was able to read the atmosphere and saw that Natalya had given him permission to call her by the nickname he invented. He squeezed Natalya in a bear hug.

"Thank you Natty! You're so kind!"

"Not . . . again . . . can't . . . breath!"

"Oh, sorry, forgot my own strength." Alfred released Natalya and allowed her to breath.

"Looks like we're gonna have to go back to the nurse's office . . . again," Alfred said, taking a look at himself.

"О брате. (Oh brother.)" Alfred took a step, but wobbled a bit, still a little shaken from the fall he took.

"Oh no," but before he could fall to the ground, Natalya quickly caught him by the arm and slung it over her shoulders.

"You ok?" she asked.

"Yeah, thanks to you."

"Here," she wrapped her arm around his waist, holding him upward, "better?"

"Yeah, thanks." With Natalya's help, Alfred was taken to the nurse to get patched up.


	7. Chapter 7

**Ok my readers, sooooooooo sorry that this took forever, summer college classes were a hassle and i also had writers block. I'm no good with writing stuff like this, but I hope you'll enjoy anyway ^.^**

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"Alfred! What the bloody hell happened to you!" Arthur exclaimed when he saw Alfred after school covered up in bandaids.

"Oh nothing, just fell from a tree."

"'Just fell from a tree'!? You could've been killed!"

"A hero never dies so easily!"

"Ugh, anyway, what WERE you doing in that tree anyway? Trying to fly like superman?"

"No! I was getting Natalya's ribbon back for her."

"You what?"

"Natalya's ribbon, Ivan threw it up in the tree, so as a hero's duty, I got it back for her."

"Wow, never thought an idiot like you would actually do something heroic for a change."

"Whatever."

"Allo my friends!" Arthur and Alfred suddenly felt someone wrap his arms around their necks, pulling them into an unwanted group hug. It was Francis.

"Ugh, what do you want you frog!?" Arthur asked annoyed as he and Alfred pulled away from Francis.

"Well, I was going to- SACREBLEU! Alfred, what happened to you!?" he asked, noticing Alfred's injuries.

"He fell from a tree from getting Natalya's ribbon back to her after Ivan threw it up in there," Arthur said before Alfred could make up some silly, dramatic story to gullible Francis.

"Oho, you saved a damsel in distress Alfred? Ohohohohoho, I sense love in the air!" Alfred became red from the statement.

"I-it's nothing like that Francis!"

"Oh come mon ami, there's nothing wrong with falling in love. Heck, you should invite her to the beach party my friends and I are throwing."

"What beach party?" Arthur asked.

"That's what I came here to tell you. Antonio, Gilbert and I thought we students should unwind a bit, so we're throwing a beach party and invited everyone to come!"

"Oh brother, anytime you three come up with an idea, it always ends badly."

"Hey! This is a perfect opportunity to have some fun and relax."

"Hm, well maybe it could be good idea after all," Arthur said, rubbing his chin.

"And also a perfect opportunity to have fun with the one you love, eh? Arthur?"

"Why the bloody hell are you looking at me!? I thought you wanted for Alfred to bring Natalya with him!"

"True, but I couldn't help but to notice you had an eye for that little Japanese girl, Sakura Honda was it not?" Arthur was just as red as a ripe tomato.

"I-I d-don't know what you're talking about!"

"Ohohoho, as the love doctor, I know exactly what I'm talking about!"

"Shut up you! Anyway, why don't _you_ find someone to go to the party with you? That is if you find anyone," Arthur added the last part with a smirk.

"Already found someone."

"Ack! Who!?"

"That little island girl, Victoria (Bonnefoy)!"

"Huh? Since when is her last name your's?"

"Since the day I fell in love."

"Oh brother." _But I would really like to go with Sakura. . . Wonder how she would look in a bathing suit?_ Arthur thought as he imagined his thoughts, that ended up with him having a slight nosebleed.

"Anyway Alfred, why don't you ask Natalya to the party? It might work out well for you!"

"Uh . . . well I don't know."

"Here then," Francis handed both boys a flyer, "here's the location and time for the party, hope to see you there with your dates!" and with that, he skipped off to hand out more of his flyers.

_Hm . . . a beach party, wonder if Natalya really would like to go . . ._

On Friday, the day before the beach party, Alfred twiddled with the rose in his hands nervously as he waited for Natalya to exit the school.

_Oh crap oh crap oh crap OH CRAP! I should've thought this through! What am I gonna tell her!? Ok, let's see . . . maybe I should start with something like, 'Hey Natalya! How's it going? Lovely weather we're having today, dontcha think?' . . . . Nah, I sound like an idiot! Come on Jones! Think of something!_

"Alfred?" he felt someone touch his shoulder. He jumped backwards, "Yikes!" It was Natalya.

"Uh, are you alright?"

"Oh Natty! Uhhhhhh yeah! of course I'm fine! Why wouldn't I be?" he said, trying to flash his usual smile, which came out crooked.

"You're standing in the middle of the school's exit with your head in the clouds. Are you sure you're ok?"

"Um . . . well yeah."

Natalya got closer to Alfred and placed her hand against his forehead, making him even more nervous. He gently took her hand.

"D-don't worry about me. I'm fine really!"

"Well ok, if you say so. Have a nice weekend," she began to leave for the school gates.

"Wait!" Alfred reached out and grabbed her hand again, now making _her _nervous.

"Y-yes?"

"Uh well," he took a deep breath before continuing, "Natalya, my friend Francis and his other friends are throwing a beach party tomorrow. And I was wondering if you . . . well, that is if you're not doing anything that day . . . if you would like to," he held out the rose, ". . . go with . . . me?" Natalya's heart beat a hundred miles a second.

_Alfred . . . wants to go with ME to a party!?_ Natalya thought as she took the rose, holding it up to her face in a futile attempt to hide the blush on her face.

"Я. . . Я это сделаю. (I . . . I will)."

"Huh?"

"I will . . . go to the party with you," she mumbled, but Alfred heard her. His eyes lit up like Christmas lights on a house.

"Wow! Thanks Natty!"

"Uh, no problem."

"So I'll pick you up at around eleven, that ok?"

"Sure."

"Great, see you then!" and Alfred jogged out of the school happily. Natalya couldn't help but to smile at Alfred's happiness when she said 'yes.' The a thought struck her.

_I don't have anything proper to wear at a beach party! Heck, I don't even have a bathing suite!_

As if she read her mind, Elizaveta popped up out of nowhere with Lily and grabbed Natalya's arm.

"Come on Natalya! We're going!" she exclaimed, pulling the unwilling Natalya out of the school and down the sidewalks.

"Eliza!? Lily!? What's going on!?"

"Oh, I hope you wont get mad, but Eliza and I kinda listened to yours and Alfred's little conversation," Lily said.

"What does that have to do with this!? Where are we going!?"

"Vásárlás! (Shopping!)" Elizaveta said in a sing-along voice.

"Что!? (What!?)"

"Ugh, I can't believe I actually let myself get dragged into this," Natalya said as Elizaveta and Lily went through racks in a store that sold swim wear, mainly for women, located in a mall.

"Aww come one Natalya, lighten up!" Elizaveta said, looking through some bikinis, "besides, Lily and I have been asked as well, we need to get something for our dates as well."

"Really? Who asked you guys?" Natalya asked.

"Gilbert Wellshmitt. You know, that albino Prussian with the little yellow chick. Can't help but to wonder why and how he keeps that little cutie with him."

"And you Lily? I can't believe someone actually asked you to the party and lived to tell about it." Lily's older brother, Vash, was _really_ overprotective of her, scarring off any guy who would get close to her.

"Well actually, my date asked my brother if he could take me, and he said 'yes'!"

"Wow, who was it? He really must have some balls if you ask me," Elizaveta said.

"It was Roderich Edelstein, he and my brother used to be friends when they were younger, so it wasn't too bad for him."

"That would explain alot. Ok Natalya," Elizaveta walked up to her and examined her, "what should we go for? A bikini? Two piece? One piece? Oh forget about that for a moment, what color should we get you? Dark colors? Light colors? Well you would look ok in black, but it just doesn't seem you. Light colors don't cut it either. Maybe something in between . . . Oh! I've got it!" Elizaveta rushed to a rack and picked out a navy blue bikini, both the top and bottom had a white ribbon in the middle, reminding Natalya of the white ribbon Alfred had given her.

"Here, try this on!"

"Eliza, there's no power on this earth that would get me in that ridiculous outfit!"

"Oh come on! I know Alfred would like to see you in it!

"Huh!? No way!"

"Oh brother," Elizaveta shoved the bikini into Natalya's hands and then shoved _her_ into a dressing room, "just try it on, I'm never wrong with these kind of things!" Natalya sighed in defeat, "Ok ok."

"Good, now Lily, we should look for something Roderich will like!"

"Oh boy . . . ."

After a long time, Natalya still hasn't come out of the dressing room.

"Natalya! Come on! It doesn't take that long to try on a bikini!" Elizaveta said from outside the dressing room while pounding on the door.

"I'm not coming out! I can't be seen like this!"

"Come out, or I'm breaking this door down!"

"Yeek! Please don't do that Eliza!" Lily pleaded.

"Ugh fine." Reluctantly, Natalya stepped out of the dressing room in the bikini.

"Well, how do I look?" she asked. Natalya had many, beautiful features that were hidden from the school's uniform that she had only been seen wearing by her friends, her long, firm arms and legs were now totally visible now, making her twice as pretty as she was, with the bikini top, Elizaveta and Lily wear able to see how big her chest really was, it wasn't as flat as the uniform made it look, and her flat stomach looked quite sexy.

"Wow Natalya you look lovely in it!" Lily said.

"And sexy!" Elizaveta added.

"Eliza!" Natalya whined.

"Yes! That's the one!"

"Um, ok, if you say so."

"And to make this even more special, Lily and I have decided to chip in to pay for it for you! Consider it a gift from us both." Natalya was dumbstruck.

"Ehh!? Why are you guys doing this?"

"Because we're your friends! We don't need a bigger reason to be dong this," Lily said.

_Friends . . .? Huh . . ._ Natalya's eyes began to water, which alarmed Elizaveta and Lily. They gathered for a group hug, trying to comfort Natalya.

"Natalya!? What's wrong!?" Lily asked.

"Is it the bikini. Oh don't worry, I'll pick out something else for you if you'd like!"

"нет (No), it's not that . . . it's just . . . no one had ever done something like this for me. Help he choose and outfit, pay for my things, or even consider me a friend. Im just . . . so happy." Natalya's little speech caused Elizaveta and Lily to have tears forming in their eyes as well.

"Oh heck yeah we're your friends!" Elizaveta said.

"And we'll always be by your side when you need us," Lily promised.

_Saturday, the day of the party . . ._

О человеке, (_Oh man), do I look ok? Will Alfred really like this outfit? What if something happens and he doesn't approve of it!_ Natalya thought nervously as she examined herself over and over again in the body length mirror. She wore a sky blue, spagetti tank top, a pair of white shorts, and on her feet were some black, strapped sandals. She adjusted her bow as she examined herself again.

_Oh, what if I make a fool out of myself at the party? I'm not used to these kind of things. Oh why did I say "yes" to Alfred's invitation!?_

"Natalya! Alfred is here!" Katyusha called from downstairs.

"Иду! (Coming!)" Natalya called back. Looking at herself one last time in the mirror, Natalya grabbed her bag and made her way down. In the living room she found Alfred having a quick chat with her sister. When they heard her enter, they both shifted their attention to her.

"Oh my Natalya, you look so cute!" Katyusha said. Alfred _couldn't _say anything, only stare.

_Wow, never thought she could look so . . . sexy._

"Alfred? You ok?" Natalya asked. Alfred snapped back to reality.

"Oh yeah! You look . . . great Natalya."

"Th-thank you."

"Well now children, time for you to run along and have fun!"

"Katyusha! We're not children, well Alfred may be, but I'm not!"

"Hey! That was cruel!"

"Oh come on," Katyusha grabbed both teenagers by their shoulder and gave them both a gentle push to the door, "you can't have your friends waiting for you. Take care of her Alfred!"

"You got it! I'll bring her back safe and sound!"

Alfred led Natalya to a waiting car.

"Since when do you have a car?" Natalya asked as Alfred helped her into the passenger's side.

"Oh this? I borrowed it from my parents," Alfred said as he started the car and rode off into the streets. As he drove, Alfred attempted to start a conversation.

"So Natty, have you ever been to a beach party before."

"There are no beaches in Russia, even if I wanted to, I couldn't go to one." Alfred mentally slapped himself, _Well that was a lame question!_

"Although," Natalya added, "I did go ice skating with my classmates once."

"Oh, how was that for you?"

"I didn't end well. A boy purposely tripped me and I threw my skate at him, the blade got him in the leg and I was suspended for a couple of weeks."

"Ouch. Well, if you get mad at someone at the beach, you can always throw a crab or a sea urchin at him." Natalya chuckled.

"I'll keep that in mind," Natalya said with a small grin. The rest of the drive was silent.

When they arrived, Alfred was fairly impressed with the scene. Not sure how Francis, Gilbert, and Antonio did it, but they managed to arrange for a DJ to come and blast music for the party, plus a huge table was filled with all kinds of food and drinks. People were either dancing, swimming, eating, playing around in the sand, and tanning (well, mostly girls were tanning).

"Is this the place?" Natalya asked, standing next to Alfred, still nervous.

"Natalya!" a voice called. It was Elizaveta. _Yup, this is the place,_ Natalya thought. Lily ran along with her when she saw Natalya. They did a group hug.

"Hey! So glad you could make it!" Lily said happily.

"Hey, lets go change into our swimwear with the other girls!" Elizaveta turned her attention to him, "you don't mind if we steal her for a minute, do you?" she asked.

"Nah, not at all, go on Natty," Alfred said, and he watched Natalya run off with her friends.

"Allo Alfred!"

"Ugh, go away Francis!"

"Oh come on Alfred! Don't be like that!" Alfred saw the Francis was not alone, Gilbert, Antonio, Yao, and Arthur were with him also, all dressed in their swim trunks.

"Hey guys!" Alfred greeted, "so where are all your dates?"

"They all when to change in the bathroom, can't wait until they come out! Keseseseses!" Gilbert said, with a perverted grin on his face.

"Seriously Gilbert, I'm surprised Elizaveta actually agreed to come with you," Alfred said, rolling his eyes.

"Hey! No one can resist the Awesome Me!"

"Whatever, I'm gonna place my things somewhere." Alfred chose a good spot to place his bag and towel down. After he did, he removed his shirt and threw it on the towel.

"Oh Alfred~!" he heard Elizaveta's voice say, "Natalya is done!"

"Oh great," Alfred turned around, "hey Nataly-ah!" Alfred now invented new shades of red as he saw Natalya in the bikini Elizaveta had chosen for her. Natalya was equally red in the face seeing Alfred shirtless for the first time.

"Um . . . . does it look weird?" she asked, not able to look him in the eye.

"No no! Not at all! You look . . . . really beautiful," Alfred managed to say.

_I stand corrected, she can looks way sexier then she originally did,_ Alfred thought, seeing Natalya's fine toned arms and legs and pretty big chest.

"Th-thank you," Natalya said, trying to not stare at Alfred's ripped abs and arms.

_I never thought he would look so muscular, those uniform really are deceiving, _Natalya thought.

"Well come on everyone! There's a party going on!" Elizaveta exclaimed, leading everyone to the main heart of the party. After a light snack, everyone headed to the sea . . . well . . . almost everyone. Natalya stood at the shore line, staring at the water, shrieking when the cold water washed over her feet.

"Hey Natty, what's wrong," Alfred asked, stepping out of the ocean.

"I-it's r-r-really c-c-c-cold."

"Aw come on, it's not so bad once you get used to it, here," he wrapped his arm around her waist, making her flinch from his touch on her bare skin, "I'll help you out, it's really fun." Having no choice, Natalya wrapped an arm around Alfred's neck for support as they walked together into the ocean water. After a while, Natalya seemed to become more comfortable with her body in the water, she and Alfred continued on until the water was under Natalya's waist.

"A-Alfred, I-I can't go on," she said, her arms around his neck becoming a little tighter.

"Heh, ok, but look how far you've come, you did really well for your first time."

"Tha-yeek!" a big wave splashed both with cold, ocean water. Natalya coughed as Alfred wiped the water from his face, he had left his glasses with his other belongings so they didn't get swept away (besides, who in their right mind would wear glasses in the ocean with all those waves? =.=).

"Hahahaha! That was fun!"

"That was _not_ fun!" Alfred only laughed again.

"I know how help you out!"

"How?"

"Like this!" and Alfred hoisted Natalya up to his shoulders, blushing when her legs brushed up to his face.

"Alfred! This isn't helping!" Natalya cried.

"Don't worry, I wont let you fall!" Alfred assured, holding Natalya's legs to keep his promise. The next wave that hit them, it only got Alfred, and to Natalya's surprise, he didn't tumble backward or anything.

"My, you are . . . pretty strong," she admitted.

"Of course I am! I'm the hero after all!" Natalya playfully slapped Alfred's head.

"You never let that go, will you?"

"Never!" Natalya could only smile. After playing in the ocean, Everyone went back to shore and started to dance with the music. Elizaveta danced with Gilbert, which ended with her banging him on the head with a frying pan that seemed to come out of nowhere when he tried to do something perverted, but they made up and continued dancing together. Lily with Roderich, who didn't really go as wild as everyone else, but still seemed to try to move to the beat of the music, since music was his thing and all. Arthur had a hard time looking at Sakura while they both danced, Francis and Victoria nearly took over the dance floor, Yao had brought his sister, Mei, along as his accomplice and danced with her, and Antonio kept trying to get a certain Italian to dance with him, which resulted with a mysterious tomato to his face. Alfred wondered what Natalya thought about dancing.

"Hey Natty, wanna dance?" he asked.

"Oh . . . um . . . I don't really dance. Unless it was a slow song or something." As if on cue, a slow song started and the couples drew closer to eachother, swaying from side to side.

"Come on, it'll be fun," Alfred held his hand out to her, "you'll see."

Natalya gulped, but took Alfred's hand as he led her to the dance floor.

"Ok, now you can put your hands here," he placed her hands on his bare shoulders, "and I'll position my hands here," he gently and lightly put his hands on her bare waist (everyone was having too much fun to change back into their normal clothes). They both swayed side to side awkwardly, but nonetheless, Natalya seemed to be enjoying it, she showed no signs of discomfort as she danced with Alfred. As the song progressed, Natalya found herself moving her hands out to around Alfred's neck and rested her head on his chest. Alfred flinched from the sudden movement, but smiled as he wrapped his arms around her, not wanting for this moment to end. As the party wore on, night came and a bon-fire was built to keep everyone warm.

"Hey Natalya," Alfred said after some time in front of the fire, "come, I wanna show you something." Taking her hand, Alfred led Natalya away to some cliffs nearby. Walking up a path, they both ended up at the top of a high cliff. Natalya breathed deeply from the sight before her.

"Wow, you can see forever up here," she said, looking out to the far ocean, all the stars were twinkling and tonight was a full moon, giving them all the light they needed.

"Natty, did you have fun today?" Alfred asked.

"да. (Yes.) Thank you Alfred, I've never had that much fun in my life."

"I'm glad to hear it." Alfred hesitantly walked up behind Natalya and wrapped his arms across her shoulders, pulling her close.

"A-Alfred?"

"Shhh, just for a minute." Natalya blushed, but placed her hands over Alfred's.

"Natalya, have I ever told you how beautiful your eyes are?" Alfred said, in a serious tone.

"Y-you think so?"

"Yeah, looking into them, I can't help but to have a throbbing sensation in my chest, it drives me crazy."

"Well, I've always liked your eyes too Alfred," Natalya whispered.

"Why?"

"The way they sparkle all the time, the kind of sparkle from someone who believes he can do anything."

"Hm. Actually, it isn't just your eyes Natalya."

"Huh?"

"It's you. Every time I look at you, I get this feeling that I never felt before. It's just that . . . . . I . . love you." That sent Natalya's heart beating out of her body.

"Wha-? You can't be serious Alfred." He spun her around, now having his arms around her, holding her close as her hands rested on his chest.

"Then how bout I prove it with this," and Alfred pressed his lips against Natalya's soft ones in a deep, passionate kiss. Her eyes grew bigger then dinner plates. But after the shock wore off, she relaxed and surprised him by kissing him back. As much as they wanted to continue, Alfred and Natalya had to part for air.

"Natalya Braginsky, I, Alfred F. Jones, am madly in love with you, and I can only pray that you feel the same for me."

" . . . . . да (Yes),"

"What was that?"

"Yes, yes Alfred," she buried her face in his chest, "I . . . . love you too." Alfred smiled and closed in for another kiss, this time, now with more confidence, he slipped his tongue in and played around in Natalya's mouth, playfully wrestling with her own. The rest of the world was unknown to them, as they lost themselves in that moment.

Alfred and Natalya soon left the party afterwards. He dropped Natalya off at her house.

"Thank you so much Alfred," Natalya said, still remaining in the car, "I had a great time."

"That was the point after all. Do I get a goodbye kiss?" Natalya smiled and blushed, but leaned forward and kissed Alfred.

"Я люблю тебя. (I love you)," she said in her own language.

"I'm gonna take a wild guess and say that means 'I love you' in Russian."

"Yes."

"Heh, later!"

"До свидания Альфред. (Goodbye Alfred!)."

Natalya entered her house with a huge smile on her face.

"Наталья! Добро пожаловать домой! (Natalya! Welcome home!)," Katyusha greeted, giving her a hug.

"Привет, сестра (Hello sister)," Natalya said, hugging her back.

"So how was the party? Did you have a good time?"

"Yes." Katyusha noticed the light blush on Natalya's cheeks, "Did something happen?"

"Huh? Well . . . kinda."

"Oh, do tell!" Katyusha clapped her hands together like a silly high school girl.

"Um . . . you remember Alfred right?"

"Oh, that handsome American? Yes, I do."

"He . . . said he loved me and kissed me." Katyusha squealed and gave Natalya a big squeeze, "Oh! I'm so happy for you!"

"Благодаря Катюша. (Thanks Katyusha.) I'm gonna go to sleep, the party really wore me out."

"Very well, спокойной ночи и сладких снов (goodnight and sweet dreams.)" Katyusha kissed Natalya on the forehead and left to her own room.

That night, as Natalya stared out the window into the night, she thought of Alfred.

_Alfred . . . I can't believe it . . . he loves me._ She looked to her nightstand and saw where she placed the ribbon he had given her, picking it up, she placed a kiss on it.

_I can now see how foolish I was chasing after my brother when I should've been chasing after you. Because unlike Ivan, you stopped and waited for me to catch up. Альфред, я так люблю тебя очень (Alfred, I love you so very much.)_

* * *

**I should remind you, I'm no good with dating stuff, love scenes, and beach parties, but hope that you enjoyed! ^.^  
**_  
_


	8. Chapter 8

**Holy Roman Empire! It's been forever since i updated this! things have been coming up and there's also the case of writer's block, but i said "screw you" to it and just wrote. not sure if this is any good though, but i hope you all enjoy anyway! things get interesting now!**

* * *

The falling snow that came in December reminded Natalya of home. It was much colder back in Russia, but nonetheless, it was cold enough for her to wear the thick coat given to her by her mother. Today was the day before Christmas break, and everyone was itching for the day to end that will spark the beginning of their vacation. As soon as the school bell rang, the students cheered and rushed right out of there, ready to start their two week vacation. Natalya simply walked out, trying to avoid getting hit by some snowballs guys were throwing at eachother.

"Hey Natty!" a voice called out to her. Natalya knew who it was. Alfred came running to her, getting hit by a few snowballs, courtesy of his friend Arthur.

"Hello Alfred. What's up?"

"Hey, so, you doing anything tomorrow?" Alfred asked, shaking the snow out of his hair.

"No, why?"

"Cause I wanna take you somewhere."

"Huh? Where?"

"It's a surprise."

"Alfred, I'm not too fond of surprises."

"Aw come on, I just _know_ you're gonna like this."

"Well . . ." Alfred put on his best puppy-dog face, "oh alright."

"Yay! I'll pick ya up at around one, that sound ok?"

"Yeah, it's fine."

"Great! See ya then! And be sure to dress warmly!" And Alfred skipped off home, then stopped, remembering that he had to wait for Matthew. Natalya could only chuckle at his mistake, but then something crossed her mind.

_Wait, if Alfred and I will be alone together, then that means . . . . could this be considered a date?_ Her cheeks instantly flushed red at her thoughts.

_Will this be my very first date with Alfred!?_

~0~

Natalya got to her house, still red in the face from the thought of tomorrow being her first date with Alfred. She was so into her thoughts she didn't notice her sister coming to greet her, but then stopped to see her flushed face.

"Natalya . . . What's wrong? Your face is all red, do you have a fever?" Katyusha asked, pressing her hand against Natalya's forehead.

"Huh? Oh!" Natalya gently pushed Katyusha's hand away, "no, it's not that, it's . . . . . Alfred asked me out . . . ." Katyusha put her hands over her mouth, "Really!?" she hugged Natalya, crushing her against her large breasts, "oh, I'm so very happy for you!" she said, oblivious to the fact Natalya was suffocating.

"Mmmpphhh!" was all Natalya was able to get out, but it was enough.

"Oh! Sorry sister." Katyusha released her and Natalya took a few deep breaths, "so, where's he taking you?"

"I don't know, he said it's a surprise."

"Hehehe! When you come back, you've got to tell me all about it!"

"Yeah yeah, I'll be in my room."

"Very well." Natalya walked up to her room, unaware that a certain Russian was hiding nearby, listening to the entire conversation . . . . .

~0~

_The next day . . . ._

It was almost one, and Natalya was getting even more nervous by the minute as she sat on the couch, waiting for Alfred to pick her up.

_Ugh, I haven't been this nervous since the beach party. But this time I don't know where he's taking me._

A few moments later, Natalya heard a knock on the door.

_Well, here goes nothing._ She answered it.

"Hey Natalya, ready to go?"

"Um, yes," she shut the door behind her and followed Alfred to the car.

"So Alfred, where exactly are you taking me?"

"I'm not telling!" Alfred sang out childishly as he drove a bit slowly, wanting to avoid skidding on the fallen snow that layered the streets.

"Ugh, you're so annoying." But Natalya waited patiently until Alfred finally stopped the car.

"Well, here we are."

"Uhhhh, where exactly are we?" Natalya asked, looking around, she saw that they were in the forest that wasn't too far from the city where they lived.

"Look ahead." Natalya did. In front of them was a huge, frozen lake.

"Remember you said you liked ice skating? Well," Alfred reached out to the back seat and revealed two pairs of ice skates, "I'd thought it'd be nice if we ice-skate together."

"Alfred . . . . that's . . really sweet, where'd you get those?"

"Matt knows a place where you can rent ice skates for cheap, he used to rent them before he got his own skates, and I called your sister last night asking your shoe size, so these should fit you."

"Alfred," Natalya threw herself at Alfred, knocking him over and causing for his head to hit the door, "thank you so much!"

"Ow! Heh, no problem." After getting their skates on, Alfred and Natalya stepped onto the ice, Natalya was overjoyed that they were the only ones there, she was never fond of those public ice skating rinks. She was impressed with Alfred's abilities on the ice.

"My Alfred, you're quite good on the ice."

"Thanks, and you, my little snow angel, have skill," Alfred said in a sexy voice, pulling Natalya close to him as they glided across the ice. She became red in the face, "A-A-Alfred!"

"Heh, you're so cute when you blush," Alfred said, kissing Natalya's nose. She pouted cutely. After a few hours of skating, the couple stopped for a break.

"Here, I brought something," Alfred said as they headed back to the car, from the trunk, he pulled out a thick blanket and a large picnic basket. He placed the blanket on the hood of the car and invited Natalya to sit with him, then from the basket, he pulled out some sandwiches, a thermos filled with piping hot chocolate, and two mugs.

"Alfred, this is wonderful, I'm having a good time," Natalya said as she cautiously sipped her hot chocolate, careful not to burn her tongue.

"I'm glad, been planning this ever since I first saw the snow," Alfred said, taking a huge bite out of a sandwich. Natalya raised the mug to take another drink, something tiny and white fell into the liquid, but quickly melted in a matter of seconds.

"Huh?" Natalya looked up, it was snowing. The snow fell quietly onto the earth, putting on a show of a winter wonder land.

"Hey! It's snowing!" Alfred said cheerfully.

"It's funny," Natalya commented.

"Huh? What's funny?" Alfred asked, not understanding.

"Back at home, I'd see snow fall all year round, and I never gave it much thought. But somehow, the snow fall here is much more beautiful then back at home, I never thought I'd marvel at the beauty of falling snow, seeing as I've seen it most of my life." Alfred smiled and scooted over to Natalya, slinging an arm over her shoulders, "That's cause you're seeing it with me," he said, pulled her warm body closer to his.

"Yes, that's it," Natalya said, leaning her head against Alfred's arm. They continued to eat in silence, enjoying the company of the other.

~0~

After everything was eaten and gone, Alfred began to pack up while Natalya waited in the warm car. As Alfred picked up the basket, he saw that Natalya had fallen asleep inside the car. He couldn't help but to smile at how cute she looked while sleeping.

"Well well well, isn't this a surprise?" a voice said behind Alfred, scaring him. It was Ivan.

"What the!? Iv-!"

"Shhhh," Ivan said, holding a finger to his mouth, "you wouldn't want to wake up my dear sister would you?" he said in a childish tone. Alfred glared, there it was again, the child-like tone Ivan used when he was up to no good.

"What are you doing here? And how'd you know we'd be here!?"

"Just thought I'd come and see if my sister was doing well, after all, this is her first _date_. As for the second question, it's simple, I followed you on my bike, wasn't hard since you were driving so slowly." There was disgust in Ivan's voice when he said "date," and that didn't go unnoticed by Alfred.

"If you must know, she said herself that she had a great time."

"Hm, I see. Makes me wonder how many girlfriends you had before."

"Huh?"

"I mean, it seems that you obviously had experience in this, so, how many were there?"

"You've got to be kidding me, Natalya is the first and only girl I'll ever love, I was just being myself, and that's good enough for her."

"Hmph, or is it?"

"This is getting ridiculous, I promised your sister I would have Natalya back before dark, so later." But before Alfred could even walk up to the driver side of the car, he felt Ivan grab him by the neck from behind.

"Wha-!?" Ivan threw him hard down against the snow covered ground, almost knocking the wind out of him. He then felt Ivan's weight on top of him, and one of his hands over his mouth, keeping him from screaming for help, and the other around his throat, although he didn't apply pressure, yet.

"I'm beginning to be at the end of my rope here Fredka, I tried to give this some time, assuming that maybe Natalya would realize how much of a disgusting human being you really are, but not anymore. Stay away from her, or I promise you you'll regret it," saying this, Ivan applied a little pressure around Alfred's throat, making his point. But Alfred just glared and shook his head. Ivan returned the glare, "This is your last warning American, otherwise I'll be making this spot your grave." Alfred again shook his head.

"Tch, fine, have it your way," Ivan squeezed hard, making Alfred thrash around in vain of trying to get Ivan off of him.

"NO!" Ivan felt someone roughly shove him to the side. Alfred coughed loudly, trying to regain the air he was denied a few moments ago.

"Alfred! Are you ok!?" Natalya was the one who had shoved Ivan away. She had woken up in the car and saw the scene, being as quiet as she possibly could be, she sneaked up behind Ivan and managed to catch him by surprise.

"Na-Natty. Yeah *cough* *cough* I'm fine *cough*"

"Oh, thank goodness." Natalya stood protectively in front of Alfred as Ivan got to his feet.

"What the heck Ivan!? You could've killed him!"

"And what if that was the point?"

"How could you do something like that!? I don't understand!"

"Let's just say I'm not pleased with what's been going on between you two. I can't have you be around that scum."

"I can't believe you Ivan! Alfred has never done anything to hurt me! In fact, he's taught me what true love is! You can actually learn a thing or two from him! In fact, you guys should be friends!" Ivan's eyes flashed with pure anger at the last thing Natalya said.

"Friends? Friends!? With that excuse for a human being!?"

"Watch your mouth," Natalya said, pulling a knife seemingly out of nowhere and pointing it towards Ivan, "that 'excuse for a human being' is my boyfriend." Ivan never had heard Natalya talk to him in such a hateful matter, he slipped his pipe out from under the tan coat he was wearing. Alfred knew that this was gonna get ugly unless he settled this peacefully. Staggering to his feet, he slowly walked towards Ivan.

"Listen Ivan, this will not end well if you go through with this. Why can't you just accept the fact that Natalya and I love eachother? I'm not asking you to like me or become my friend, but I'm only asking that you just back off and let Natalya choose who she wants to be with and not cause her and I any problems."

"НЕТ! (NO!)," Ivan's grip on his pipe became tight, causing his knuckles to become white, "I will _never_ accept this!" He charged forward and swung his pipe to Alfred's head.

"Alfred look out!" Natalya shouted, running towards the guys in hopes of stopping Ivan. Alfred managed to duck at the last minute, only feeling the cold iron swish past the top of his hair. Quick as a bullet, Alfred kicked at Ivan's legs, knocking him to the ground.

"Ow! Damn you!"

"Look Ivan, I don't wanna fight, doing so will only hurt Natalya, and that's the last thing I want, so," he held his hand out to help Ivan up, "can't we just start over? If you can't do it for yourself, at least do it for your sister." Ivan's cold glare actually began to soften, and slowly, but surely, he reached out for Alfred's hand. Natalya watched with happy eyes, believing that Ivan had finally let go of his hate towards Alfred. The moment their hands touched, Ivan's cold look returned instantly.

"Kidding." He pulled Alfred down and stood up quickly, slamming his foot on Alfred's chest. Alfred let out a pained yell as the breath was knocked out of him.

"Heh," Ivan raised his pipe for a blow, only to be shoved away by Natalya, she held him in place on the ground by straddling his sides with her legs and holding her knife against his throat.

"Ivan, I don't want to do this, please just stop," tears formed in her eyes as her hand began to shake, "I love you both, I don't want any of you hurt." Her tears landed and slid on Ivan's blank face.

"Natty! *cough* I'm ok, you can let him *cough* go!" As Natalya's attention was on Alfred, Ivan saw his chance to get her off. He pushed her roughly away and stood up.

"Ouch!" Natalya cried when she hit some frozen snow. This set a spark that ignited a fire in Alfred.

"What the heck dude!? Is that any way to treat your sister!?"

"Heh, she's no sister of mine."

"Ivan . . . ." tears rolled down Natalya's cheeks. Seeing the girl he loved crying, Alfred completely lost it. He wrestled Ivan to to ground, forgetting that the Russian was bigger and possibly stronger then him, but that didn't stop him from delivering a few punches.

"How dare you! How can you say that you heartless commie!?" he yelled, punching Ivan in the eye before getting an uppercut from below from Ivan. The guys continued to throw punches at eachother, Alfred had blood running down his jaw while Ivan had a black eye beginning to show. Natalya tried to stop the fight by shouting, "Stop it! Please!" but neither guy listened, both blinded by anger. As Alfred punched Ivan to the ground, Natalya, not being able to bear this any longer, threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around him.

"Alfred stop this! A hero wouldn't act like this!" she screamed, hoping to reach him. She felt his muscles instantly relax, showing that she had reached him. He looked back and down at her.

"Natalya . . . . I . ." he turned his body to envelope her in a hug, "I'm sorry, I didn't know what came over me," he looked down at Ivan, "Ivan, I had enough of this, I'm taking Natalya home. You're really lucky to have someone like her as a sister you know. Later." Both he and Natalya turned to the car, with Alfred leaning a little on Natalya, hurting a bit from his injuries. Both were oblivious to Ivan seeing Natalya's knife in the snow, taking it, and aiming it at Alfred. Something told Natalya to look back, when she did, she saw Ivan throwing the knife, straight at Alfred. With only seconds to do something, Natalya acted on instinct and threw herself in the knife's path while screaming, "NO!" The faint sound of the knife lodging itself into flesh was heard followed by the sound of Natalya letting out a pained scream. When Alfred looked back, he saw one of his worst nightmares. Lodged into Natalya's right shoulder was a knife. The blade was barely seen, showing how deep it had gone. Natalya struggled to stay standing, "Please . . . . don't . . . . I . . love you . . . both . . ." was the last thing she said before falling down onto the snow.

"Natalya!" Alfred yelled, gathering his girlfriend in her arms, as much as he wanted to pull the knife out of her to lessen her pain, he knew that she would loose blood quicker if he did and could possible hurt her even more. Ivan's eyes were wide with shock at what just happened.

"No . . . . what have I done . .?" Alfred knew he had to act fast.

"Ivan! Come on! We need to get her to a hospital!" For the first time in his life, Ivan listened to Alfred and followed him to his car.

"Get in the back seat with Natalya, I'll drive!" Ivan held Natalya close to him while

Alfred sped through the snowy streets, trying to get to the hospital as quickly as possible, but also trying to avoid causing an accident. In the back seat, Ivan looked down at his sister, her face was scrunched up in discomfort and pain of the blade still being in her shoulder and she was breathing very slowly. His eyes filled with tears, it had been such a long time since he actually shed any, so when they fell form his eyes, he was almost surprised.

"Oh Natalya, I'm such a horrible brother. Прости (I'm sorry)," he whispered to her, shaking. Natalya did her best to smile up at him through her pain.

"It's ok . . . . brother."

"You . . . . really are a wonderful sister," Ivan said with a small smile of his own.

"Th-thank you . . . . . bro . . ther." Natalya closed her eyes and Ivan panicked.

"Natalya? Natalya!?" No response. "Alfred! Please hurry!" Alfred flinched, this was the first time Ivan had called him by his actual name.

"I'm trying my best here! But the streets are slippery with all this snow, I don't want us to crash into anything or anyone!"

_Oh Natalya . . . ._ Ivan kissed her forehead. _Hang in there . . . Please . . ._


End file.
